Chapter 163: Unfathomable Zhang Yu

Chapter 163: The Unfathomable Zhang Yu

Under the astonished gazes of countless students and the gods present, Zhang Yu abruptly halted the flow of his magical energy.

The competitors on the field had been sprinting with all their might, and aside from the first and second places, the times of the other students were all tightly clustered.

Thus… as Zhang Yu paused, the bar representing him on the chart was flung forward at breakneck speed, racing straight toward the last place.

Watching his rank tumble step by step, Zhang Yu’s fighting spirit only grew hotter; in his mind the wounded ox he visualized reared its crippled limbs, let out a sky‑piercing bellow, and its broken horn glimmered with a cold light.

“Come, die and be reborn!”

Under the self‑imposed pressure, the sacrificial Heart‑Soul Technique of the wounded ox was amplified, its power swelling against the stress and the brink of doom.

Zhang Yu felt the magical currents surge through every fiber of his being, as if oil were being seared in a raging fire, radiating an unprecedented vigor.

His mind raced even faster, beginning to steer the flow of power throughout his entire body.

“My control over magic is strong, yet I have never cultivated the explosive force of it.”

“If I am to break through in this trial, I must unleash the full advantage of my control.”

With that thought, a flash of insight struck Zhang Yu’s mind, recalling the Dragon‑Elephant Mountain‑Crushing Palm—a universal martial art that had cost him two hundred thousand.

Like the earlier Back‑Dragon Overturn‑Mountain Hand, this purely physical art is deemed universal because it can harness any magical energy and unleash a formidable might.

“The Dragon‑Elephant Mountain‑Crushing Palm should be my most explosive technique; if I drive it with magic…”

A sudden bang rang out as the magical energy within Zhang Yu slammed violently against the detection patch on his palm.

At the same moment, he felt a sharp sting along his meridians.

“My meridians are still not strong enough…”

“Then I shall wrap them in the Formless Cloud‑Steel, forging a new conduit…”

“And then unleash the Dragon‑Elephant Mountain‑Crushing Palm to blast every ounce of magic outward!”

Threads of Formless Cloud‑Steel rose from Zhang Yu’s dantian, instantly transmuting into layers of sub‑dermal steel qi that encircled his meridians, constructing a channel from his dantian to his palm.

In the next instant, a thunderous roar erupted within him, and the exploding magic surged along the channel, blasting outward with brutal force.

The pressure of desperation, the amplification of the sacrificial Heart‑Soul Technique, and the Formless Cloud‑Steel forming a rail—all combined as the magic was released through the Dragon‑Elephant Mountain‑Crushing Palm, each strike violently shaking the steel qi within Zhang Yu.

In that moment, Zhang Yu felt himself become a cannon: the Formless Cloud‑Steel as the barrel, the Dragon‑Elephant Palm as the gunpowder, magic as the projectile, firing round after relentless round from within.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Yet with such a raw, savage thrust of magic, his ranking instantly accelerated, surging forward with ferocious momentum.

30th place!

28th place!

21st place!

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu not only reclaimed the 21st spot but was already lunging toward the 20th, his speed unrelenting.

At that very moment, occupying the 20th position was a student named Li Tongyun.

When she saw the bar labeled “55” on the screen closing in on her, a crushing pressure seized Li Tongyun’s heart.

“Damned… why?”

“Why am I forced to this point?”

She recalled the days when she had ranked among the top five of Xianyun High, only to watch her standing crumble over the past six months to this very moment…

A fierce sense of injustice flared within Li Tongyun’s mind.

Six months earlier, her father had been defeated in a corporate power struggle, reduced to a sacrificial pawn and ultimately expelled from the company.

With his severance delayed, the family now faced mounting loans, bills, and the costs of cultivation.

Their savings at the time could barely cover a single month’s expenses.

To preserve her image among friends, classmates, and teachers, Li Tongyun dared not reveal the truth; she kept borrowing, forcing herself to maintain the façade of wealth.

As the old saying goes, when the bank account is empty, the loan account swells.

By today, Li Tongyun’s account balance had sunk to minus 1.5 million.

Even so, her cultivation lagged behind her peers, starved of financial support, and she plummeted in rank.

On the high‑speed road of high‑school cultivation, any slowdown meant being left far behind.

“I cannot lose…”

Yet even if she merely endured the gap, even if she were gradually abandoned by her old circle, she could still secure a university place and a decent job in the future.

But Li Tongyun knew the stakes were far higher; she could not afford to lose now.

When her family’s annual income had peaked, and she herself had stood among the top five of Xianyun High, at the height of her pride, certain of entering the elite ten, she had signed a wager contract with her father’s company.

“I must obtain the Foundation‑Establishment Certificate, or else… I will become the company’s asset.”

Watching the ever‑approaching “55” bar, Li Tongyun felt it was a bottomless abyss of despair, inching toward her feet, intent on swallowing her whole.

“I will not lose!”

With a roar of fury, Li Tongyun pushed her magic to twelve‑fold capacity, each surge accompanied by a searing, artery‑rending agony, blasting her power outward.

No matter how hard she strained, even to the point of blood spilling from her seven orifices, she could only watch helplessly as Zhang Yu stepped over her number, pushing her down to 21st place.

The instant he reached 20th, Zhang Yu exhaled a sigh of relief: “Finally, I’m up.”

As the pressure eased, Zhang Yu deliberately throttled back his magical output.

After all, his brutal tactics could not be without cost; while preserving a spot in the top twenty, he also had to safeguard his own health.

Yet soon Zhang Yu realized the 21st competitor was still on his tail. The closer the pursuer came, the greater the pressure, forcing Zhang Yu to raise his output again, hurling the chaser away once more.

Even protected by the Formless Cloud‑Steel, the savage bombardment of magic gradually bruised his body.

“Damn, is this guy that persistent?”

Zhang Yu rubbed his aching abdomen, eyeing the still‑chasing 21st—remember, the opponent’s number was 36.

Blood spilling from seven apertures, his meridians screaming in pain, Li Tongyun now stared fixedly at the “55” bar on the screen.

Each time she closed the gap, “55” would accelerate again, flinging her far behind.

Yet after each throw, the bar would ease its speed, as if waiting for her to catch up.

“55, are you that ultra‑rich outsider?”

“Are you teasing me on purpose? Deliberately…”

When he saw No.55 surge all the way to the 20th place, he thought the opponent was about to launch an assault on the top three.

But when No.55 simply halted at the 20th spot, he felt doubt stir again.

Until he watched No.55 remain stubbornly at twentieth, while No.36 repeatedly caught up only to be flung aside again…

A flash of insight lit Dai Xingzhi’s eyes: “He… is he playing a game?”

Seeing the other side maintain the twentieth rank steadily until the end of this round, Dai Xingzhi’s conviction deepened.

“Deliberately stuck at twentieth, never surpassing the one ahead, yet controlling that no one overtakes him.”

“To deliberately manipulate one’s standing in the foundation‑building exam?”

“Only absolute self‑confidence could produce such a feat.”

Dai Xingzhi glanced toward Zhang Yu, thinking silently, “How rich could this fellow possibly be?”

He was not the only one in the arena harboring such thoughts.

When Yun Jing, who had seized second place, finally fixed his gaze on Ye Lingxiao for a long while, he turned his head and shot a glance at Zhang Yu: “Hmph, hiding behind and pulling such tricks. Is it to flaunt his control? Or to conceal his strength?”

After Ye Lingxiao claimed first, a trace of helplessness crossed his face, and he thought, “Just a little provocation and I can’t help snatching the top.”

“Indeed, I’m a bit impatient after all.”

He looked toward Zhang Yu, musing, “This guy, even in the examination hall, can still adopt a playful mindset.”

In that moment, Zhang Yu became even more unfathomable in Ye Lingxiao’s eyes.

Especially this round, Ye Lingxiao was convinced Zhang Yu was inevitably masking his power.

An opponent whose depth he could not gauge only heightened his sense of threat.

“He might be more dangerous than Yun Jing.”

With that, Ye Lingxiao gave Zhang Yu a nod: “Well played.”

“Huh?” Zhang Yu heard the greeting, his eyes clouded with bewilderment: “What exactly is ‘well played’?”

“Is this kid provoking me?”

“Seeing me struggle miserably at twentieth, then coming to mock me?”

How to describe that feeling… Zhang Yu resolved that, from now on, he would never again praise Zhao Tianxing’s punches in class.

“Damn, those words sound so harsh, a whole load of sarcastic snark.”

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen comforted, “Yuzi, being looked down upon has its perks; it makes your rise above them all the more striking later.”

“Surpassing those rich folk is a privilege of us poor ones! Those top‑tier immortal lords have never known such an experience since birth.”

Clearly, in Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes, Ye Lingxiao’s recent words and actions were drenched in provocation, mockery, disdain, and contempt.

Yet Zhang Yu felt none of the consolation in her words.

“Damn, there are two more tests; that guy won’t keep haunting me with his yin‑yang tricks, will he?”

“Was it just criticism for him tossing red packets recklessly? Does he really need to hold a grudge that long?”

With the magical‑power exam concluded, the students now faced the forthcoming physical trial.

Deng Bingding’s voice rang out: “One’s cultivation of the body can manifest in countless ways.”

“And there is one aspect that a person cannot do without each day, nor can fabricate.”

“That is one’s appetite.”

“The stronger one is, the more one eats; the more one eats, the stronger one becomes. Appetite is one of the hallmarks of bodily cultivation, testing overall metabolism, digestion, and the stomach’s gathering power.”

“Today’s second trial is the Battle of Gluttony!”

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(End of chapter)