Chapter 375: Desperate Genius Zhang Yu (Thanks to 'Charlotte')

Chapter 375: The Desperate Genius Zhang Yu (Thanks to ‘_Charlotte_’ for the alliance leader reward)

Above the arena.

Projections from the Spirit Realm emerged, standing in the void in a state invisible to the students, observing the situation below.

These Spirit Realm projections belonged to Department Head Gao, Department Head Lin, and numerous other teachers and professors of the Civil Engineering Department.

Their true bodies were elsewhere, occupied with various tasks or even far from the university city, yet they had all cast a thought here to witness the outcome of this competition.

Even the Civil Engineering Department Head, True Monarch Lingyue, who had just been speaking on stage, had descended a projection to facilitate communication with his colleagues.

Though these projections stood apart, they were subtly divided into three factions: the War faction, the Peace faction, and the Neutral faction of the Civil Engineering Department.

Seeing the Neutral faction leaning slightly toward the Peace faction, Tu Lishan’s brow furrowed unconsciously.

He thought to himself: "A bunch of fence-sitters. When we hand projects to you, you’re as obedient as dogs, but now that the Finance Department has approved more loans, you’ve run off to their side."

Tu Lishan looked down at the arena, thinking: "If the Peace faction gains the upper hand in this competition, I fear more neutral teachers and students will gravitate toward them."

His pupils flickered with the interface of the stocks he held, and he wondered: "If that happens, the share price will drop, right? Should I sell now?"

But glancing at Department Head Gao beside him, he knew that if he offloaded his shares now, he would certainly be targeted, so he had to silently desist.

"Besides... it’s not certain that we will lose."

Tu Lishan mused: "At the very least, Mo Shangjin has a high probability of taking first place. Department Head Gao has tilted most of the resources for student cultivation toward him."

"If first place is secured, it won't matter much if other rankings fall behind."

"After all, one must win the departmental competition first to represent the school."

Tu Lishan knew that the inter-school league offered more comprehensive points, allowing Mo Shangjin to quickly surpass his rivals and become the top student in the entire department.

Meanwhile, other teachers were commenting on the situation in the arena.

"Mo Shangjin’s mastery of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power is becoming increasingly refined."

"I think Xuan Liangtian’s mountain-moving power is deeper, and he spent less time on it, too."

"Hmm... is that a sophomore? So fast already?"

Tu Lishan looked in the direction a teacher was pointing and saw Zhang Yu charging headlong into the gravity field.

...

Zhang Yu let out a low growl; as his mana circulated, his muscles bulged with thick, protruding veins, and his body temperature soared, emitting billowing heat that turned his skin a deep crimson.

With the activation of the War Demon Life-Sapping Art, Zhang Yu’s physical strength surged by 0.5 levels, reaching over level 17.

But for Zhang Yu, this was merely the beginning; he had decided to reveal the power of the 20th-level War Demon Life-Sapping Art this time.

"After all, I’ve been practicing this art for over ten months; reaching level 20 is no longer a problem."

Before making this decision, Zhang Yu had checked the Spirit Realm network and found that it wasn't impossible for someone to reach level 20 within a year; at least several people at Wanfa University had done so in the last twenty years, even without many geniuses choosing to practice this art.

"Given the talent I’ve displayed all along, exposing a 20th-level War Demon Life-Sapping Art shouldn't be an issue now."

"This art can temporarily boost my physical strength, just enough to bridge the gap with the upperclassmen."

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu took a slow breath, then shook his arms and legs to warm up before pushing the War Demon Life-Sapping Art further.

As the veins on his forehead bulged and sweat poured from his body, his heart hammered violently, as if a giant hammer were striking a drum within his chest.

Physical strength +1.0 level!

Physical strength +1.5 levels!

Physical strength +2.0 levels!

In one breath, he pushed the War Demon Life-Sapping Art to the limit of its second-stage eruption.

This was a move Zhang Yu rarely used.

It caused immense damage to the body, and it was never cost-effective to use during normal study or overtime.

But the current elimination round only required a momentary burst, and Zhang Yu felt he could handle it.

With the second eruption of the War Demon Life-Sapping Art, Zhang Yu’s physical strength temporarily skyrocketed past level 18.5, his skin turning as red as if dripping with blood.

"Hoo..."

Zhang Yu exhaled slightly, the scorching air causing the atmosphere to distort.

Feeling his body operating under overload, Zhang Yu thought it was fortunate he had activated the Civil Engineering Sacred Body, and that the Residual Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Technique was constantly healing his body, otherwise the loss of lifespan would be too severe.

Although he could still use the Dan-Poison Eruption of the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen, Zhang Yu decided to save the accumulated poison for the subsequent rounds.

The next moment, Zhang Yu’s figure flashed; accompanied by an explosive roar beneath his feet, he tore through the atmosphere and, with the sound of a sonic boom, crashed into the gravity field.

Boom!

The moment he entered the gravity field, Zhang Yu felt as if pairs of invisible hands were pressing upon him, dragging him upward, pulling him downward, or pushing him in all directions...

The chaotic, ever-changing gravity field tore at his body, as if trying to rip him limb from limb.

Only then did Zhang Yu understand why the other students began to sway unsteadily as if they had forgotten how to walk upon entering.

"Because one must constantly shift their posture to counter this chaotic gravity field..."

The next moment, Zhang Yu let out a low growl and contracted his form, reducing his height and volume to minimize the surface area affected by the chaotic gravity.

Immediately after, the Four-Headed White Ox in his mind roared, and Zhang Yu’s quadruple-thought process suddenly activated. With one thought as the master, the remaining three controlled his torso, arms, and legs respectively to adapt to the shifting gravity.

Ever since Bai Zhenzhen’s guidance and his own conscious training, Zhang Yu had become increasingly proficient at controlling his form with multiple thoughts.

Once deployed, he could not only smoothly adapt his body to the changes in the gravity field and quickly adjust his force, but also coordinate his limbs to propel himself forward with continued acceleration.

Thus, Zhang Yu’s figure paused for a fraction of a second before charging forward, rapidly overtaking one student after another.

...

Above the arena.

The teachers’ Spirit Realm projections voiced their admiration.

"This Zhang Yu is only a sophomore, yet he possesses such high physical strength?"

"Look closely; this is not his true physical power, but the activation of the War Demon Life-Sapping Art."

"But judging by the intensity of his activation, this art seems to have been pushed to the 20th level?"

A teacher checked the time Zhang Yu had purchased the art and said in surprise: "He only started practicing last August? He is truly gifted in this art."

Another teacher remarked: "The key is his body control; he hasn't been affected much since entering the gravity field and is still accelerating, which means he can fully adapt to this sudden surge in physical strength. This indicates excellent martial arts talent."

Just then, a teacher from the Peace faction said indifferently: "What is the use of practicing the War Demon Life-Sapping Art well? The better you use it, the faster you die; the poorer you get, the more you practice."

Tu Lishan glanced at the speaker and recognized him as the geology teacher, Wei Huai.

He looked at Department Head Gao beside him and saw that the corner of the man's mouth, which had been slightly upturned, suddenly drooped.

Tu Lishan knew that while Wei Huai was ostensibly talking about Zhang Yu, he was actually addressing the ideological rift between the two factions.

He immediately stepped forward and said: "That is incorrect. Every person’s constitution is different; how can one generalize?"

"Zhang Yu has a naturally robust physique; as a freshman, he was already consuming enough life-draining medicine for several people."

"The War Demon Life-Sapping Art, which is a heavy burden for others, is nothing to him."

Desperation was his finest recourse; only through such sheer, frantic striving could he burn through less capital and seize the top rank in his class by the end of his freshman year...

Right in the middle of Tu Lishan’s sentence, a streak of crimson pierced straight through the arena below.

...

Zhang Yu felt a faint flicker in his ocular armor as a red projection manifested before him, stretching across the entire gravity field like a running track.

Simultaneously, a male voice reached everyone’s ears.

“This is my path of progression.”

“When I pass through at Mach five, please remain still, lest you be run down.”

In the next instant, accompanied by a soaring flare of light and fire, a flash of scarlet shadow charged into the gravity field like a meteor piercing the sun, bearing a surging wave of air and leaving only a red afterimage, reaching the end of the gravity field in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

Reaching out to swat away the oncoming blast of air, Zhang Yu watched the figure come to a halt and thought to himself, “Su Yanyang? The guy who ran into and injured Shi Huaiyu.”

“This fellow is a bit arrogant.”

“Besides, his set of Dharma armor couldn't have been cheap, right? Someone this wealthy is actually unwilling to compensate Shi Huaiyu.”

...

Su Yanyang paid no heed to the opinions of others, merely glancing at his elapsed time and thinking, “Not bad.”

Then he beckoned with his hand, and an iron coffin in the distance came flying toward him.

As the iron coffin swung open, several rectangular streams of light flew out, snapping and clicking as they transformed into pieces of Dharma armor for various parts of the body.

Concurrently, the Dharma armor on Su Yanyang’s body abruptly contracted and deformed, and once replaced by the new armor, it automatically flew into the iron coffin.

In a flash, he had completed the switch from speed-type Dharma armor to his daily armor set, turning his head slightly to adapt before walking toward his teammates nearby.

As for the iron coffin carrying the Dharma armor, it floated quietly by his side.

Within the vision of Su Yanyang’s ocular armor, lines of script emerged, belonging to the ghost cultivators he had recruited into his armor to assist with operations.

In Su Yanyang’s view, these things were far cheaper and much more useful than artifact spirits of equivalent intelligence.

The ghost cultivator assisting with the hand armor asked, “Boss, how was it? Our assisted operation wasn't bad, right?”

Su Yanyang replied, “It was alright. Keep performing well. Out of the five of you, I will only keep one at most as a permanent employee.”

Hearing these words, the five ghost cultivators controlling the auxiliary armor worked even harder.

Feeling this, Su Yanyang smiled faintly, though he knew... in truth, he would not keep a single one of the five ghost cultivators.

Compared to hiring ghost cultivators as permanent staff, he preferred those on probation.

Thanks to book_friend_20211108101604849 for the ten thousand bounty

Thanks to Mo_De_Mo for the ten thousand bounty

Thanks to Silence_and_Sword for the thirty thousand bounty

(End of Chapter)