Chapter 387: Severing Hair to Refine a Sword

Chapter 387: Severing Hair to Forge a Blade

Upon stepping into the Dual-Realm Partition Array, the severance of the Spirit Realm network left Zhang Yu not only blind to the competition group’s messages and unable to communicate with his teammates, but also witness to a world transformed.

He could no longer see the markers his teammates had pinned onto his ocular interface.

The streams of data that once pulsed incessantly had vanished.

Even the illumination of the arena dimmed, and the warnings, competition rules, and advertisements that usually drifted through the air dissolved into nothingness.

Turning to look beyond the barrier, he found the neon glow and kaleidoscopic lights of the arena’s perimeter had been wiped away.

With the connection to the Spirit Realm severed, all that remained were gray, desolate structures, like a primitive world shrouded in ignorance. The absence of the Spirit Realm’s vibrant vitality made the physical world appear pallid and insipid.

Zhang Yu realized that, without noticing, he had grown accustomed to a world in constant communion with the Spirit Realm; without its support, every action felt clumsy and unrefined.

The next moment, as Tian Yang slapped a palm onto Zhang Yu’s back, Zhang Yu felt a sharp, piercing sword intent descend from the heavens, pouring into his body. It cleaved through the layers of obstruction, helping him reconnect to the Spirit Realm and rendering the world before him clear and colorful once more.

Simultaneously, Shi Huaiyu’s messages reappeared on everyone’s ocular interfaces.

Shi Huaiyu: Where are you all?

Tian Yang: Just used the Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword to break through the Dual-Realm Partition Array.

Tian Yang: Don’t send anything that consumes too much data.

Tian Yang: If I run out of credit and get turned into a Spirit-Severed Body, we’re in trouble.

As they exchanged words, Zhang Yu, Xiao Qingxuan, and Tian Yang hurried deeper into the fortifications constructed by Su Yanyang.

As they ventured further, they felt the interior of the hive-like structure grow increasingly tortuous and complex.

At the same time, the ambient spiritual energy grew thin, causing their mana recovery rates to plummet.

Shi Huaiyu warned: As Su Yanyang’s array reaches completion and his control over the spiritual veins increases, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air will continue to drop.

Shi Huaiyu: The deeper you go, the worse it will get, so conserve your mana for the actions ahead.

Just then, Zhang Yu stopped in his tracks, frowning as he said, "Are we walking in circles?"

He accessed the footage recorded by his Time-Remnant Demon Eye, and a side-by-side comparison confirmed that they had certainly passed this way before.

But Xiao Qingxuan, standing beside him, shook her head: "I’ve compared the route we just took; we shouldn't have been here."

Shi Huaiyu: Zhang Yu, are you misremembering?

Zhang Yu paused, bewildered: "Did I see it wrong?"

He sent the comparison footage to the group, prompting Tian Yang to exclaim: "Don’t send such high-definition images!"

Xiao Qingxuan looked at the image and said: "Is your ocular interface malfunctioning? We haven't been to this place you recorded."

Zhang Yu furrowed his brows, a deep sense of suspicion rising within him.

...

In the Spirit Realm space.

During the three-hour rest period, the teachers naturally wouldn't leave their projected consciousnesses idling in silence.

Now that the new round of the competition had officially begun, many professors from the Civil Engineering Department arrived one after another.

Though the Magnetic Pole Sovereign was fashionably late, becoming the final arrival, no one dared to utter a word.

Seeing the Magnetic Pole Sovereign finally appear, Director Gao felt a wave of relief; he had truly feared the man would find the competition too tedious to watch and simply stay away.

Director Gao messaged privately: Why so long? What were you doing?

Magnetic Pole Sovereign: My new student achieved some results, and I was curious enough to look into it.

Director Gao: Oh? The one you mentioned who got in through the back door?

Magnetic Pole Sovereign: Indeed. It seems those who enter through the back door have their own unique merits.

Director Gao: That goes without saying. Times have changed; in the past, only the incompetent needed back doors, but now, being able to use one is a sign of ability.

Director Gao: What is that student’s name?

The Magnetic Pole Sovereign did not answer, instead watching the five ongoing competitions and suddenly remarking: "Oh? In our Myriad Dharma University, someone is actually using a Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword?"

At this moment, few teachers were watching the match between Zhang Yu and Su Yanyang.

After all, in the eyes of most, the disparity in strength was too vast; the outcome was inevitable, with Su Yanyang destined to crush his opponent.

But at the Sovereign’s remark, many teachers immediately focused their attention.

When they saw Zhang Yu produce the Green Silk Flying Sword and use a Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword from Heaven Sword University to shatter the Dual-Realm Partition Array, Lang Yougong was slightly surprised: "Zhang Yu can use a Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword? When did he apply for this from Heaven Sword University?"

One teacher commented: "It’s not a standard commercial method. This sword, forged from green silk, holds the authority to connect directly to the Heaven-Patrol network. It looks like a gift from someone of significant status within Heaven Sword University."

Director Lin’s expression remained unchanged, his gaze as still as an ancient well, but his mind was a storm of thoughts.

He particularly recalled the recent meeting between Zhang Yu and Wen Wuyue, a Transformation-stage disciple of Heaven Sword University.

Director Lin thought: "That old fox Gao Chongguang has actually made contact with a Transformation-stage cultivator from Heaven Sword. Could they have reached some agreement regarding the use of the Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword?"

The Magnetic Pole Sovereign couldn't help but glance at Director Gao, asking privately: "Have you collaborated with Heaven Sword University on the Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword?"

The Spirit Realm... for every cultivator, it was of paramount importance.

Once disconnected, not only did life and cultivation become inconvenient, but the efficiency of work and study plummeted.

Ensuring a stable connection, especially outside the university city, was vital.

The Magnetic Pole Sovereign envisioned the sun and moon hanging in the sky and thought to himself: "Our Myriad Dharma University’s Illuminating Sun and Moon are fine, but the fees are exorbitant."

"If we could introduce the Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword to create competition, who knows how much funding could be saved in a year." The Sovereign knew well that for departments like Artifact Forging or Civil Engineering, the scale of Spirit Realm usage far exceeded that of individual students.

The monthly cost was a staggering expenditure for any department.

"Old Gao has really found himself a lever."

"From the perspective of cost reduction and efficiency, this is a much more convenient way to invite Heaven Sword University’s involvement than any debate between the pro-war or pro-peace factions."

Director Gao, reading the message, offered no reply, maintaining an inscrutable expression.

In his heart, he thought of the friendship between Wen Wuyue and Zhang Yu.

"That sword forged from green silk... could it be that Wen Wuyue severed his own hair to forge it for Zhang Yu?"

"Has their friendship truly reached such depths?"

Director Gao was stunned. Did such things still happen among the youth of Kunxu?

A Transformation-stage disciple meeting a first-year student, becoming fast friends, gifting them severed hair, and even providing a channel to the Heaven-Patrol network...

Director Gao even wondered if Zhang Yu had become a traitor to Myriad Dharma, selling secrets to the other side.

But he quickly dismissed the absurd thought, musing: "I shall have to ask him properly next time."

"This student of mine continues to exceed my expectations."

Meanwhile, the match continued.

Watching the changes after Zhang Yu entered the fortifications, the Peace-faction teacher Wei Huai said: "They’ve fallen into the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array."

A teacher beside him nodded: "Indeed, it is the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array. They must have been ensnared while sharing the Spirit Realm connection of the Heaven-Patrol Flying Sword."

"Everything they see through their ocular interfaces is now a mix of truth and illusion, and the messages they receive are generated by the array spirit. Every move they make is now under Su Yanyang’s watchful eye."

Another neutral-leaning instructor remarked with praise, "Su Yanyang’s team has deployed the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Formation quite skillfully; it is clear they have mastered the curriculum on intelligent architecture."

Tu Lishan understood that for the senior students, the intelligent architecture course involved merging construction with array formations, imbuing buildings with spirits and sentience to achieve full automation, digitization, and informational integration.

Wei Huai added, "Su Yanyang’s cost management is also impeccable. He successfully operated the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Formation with only three soul cultivators, achieving remarkable results."

...

Within the arena.

Fu Ji suddenly spoke up, "Zhang Yu, you have likely fallen into their trap. Your vision has been obscured, and even the information transmitted by your ocular prosthetics has been distorted."

A jolt went through Zhang Yu’s heart. "My ocular prosthetics have been tampered with?"

To ensure his natural eyes could continuously adapt to his enhanced physique, Zhang Yu had long made a habit of wearing the prosthetics on his eyes in alternating turns.

Although this prevented his Temporal Remnant Demon Pupils from reaching peak performance, it allowed him to observe the world with his naked eyes when necessary.

Yet, no matter how he alternated between closing his left and right eyes, he could detect nothing unusual in his surroundings.

Fu Ji said indifferently, "Stop trying. If they can target your prosthetics, they can naturally target your biological vision as well."

"This type of formation, designed to deceive perception, has been refined from ancient blueprints."

Fu Ji spoke with ease, "Ancient arrays were originally created to deceive the physical senses. It was only after the advent of ocular prosthetics—when it was discovered they had no effect on them—that these arrays were improved to interfere with both flesh and magical hardware simultaneously."

"Do you know why you saw things differently just now, leading to the conflict with Xiao Qingxuan and Tian Yang? It is because you are using the Temporal Remnant Demon Pupils, which far outperform their prosthetics, allowing you to hold out for a little longer."

"If you want to test it, try sending a message. I suspect the messages you are sending and receiving have already been distorted."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then sent a message into the competition group chat.

Zhang Yu: @Yu Xinghan, do you remember what Senior Sister Hong Xiao’s latest work is?

Yu Xinghan: "The Blooming Secret Bud," released last month.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Tch, in the competition group... how could Yu Xinghan be so candid about it?"

"After all, people like us, who appreciate these works through the lens of pure, non-dualistic art, have always been a persecuted and discriminated-against minority in Kunxu."

"The real Yu Xinghan would have pretended not to see my message, or feigned ignorance of what I was talking about."

"It seems Fu Ji was right; the messages being sent and received are all fabrications."

With this realization, Zhang Yu grabbed Xiao Qingxuan beside him and spoke directly, "Our vision has been obscured, and our communications have been distorted..."

Thanks to 'Silence and Sword' for the twenty-thousand reward.

Thanks to 'Yinyue' for the forty-thousand reward.

(End of chapter)