Chapter 388: Intelligent Buildings

Chapter 388: Intelligent Architecture

Within the spiritual realm.

During the competition, every team's communication group shares its internal dialogue with judges and mentors, revealing their collaborative process.

Zhang Yu’s team was no exception.

Observing Zhang Yu’s messages in the group, one mentor remarked, "It seems Zhang Yu has discovered something."

Another mentor added, "His exchange with the substitute member must be a probe."

"The formation was set too hastily. Without sufficient big data, the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array cannot perfectly simulate every contingency. He has surely spotted the flaw."

Lang Yougong chuckled, "Who would have thought that while Zhang Yu appears bold and reckless, he is actually meticulous to a fault."

Wei Huai noted, "Su Yanyang’s team was likely focused on construction and hadn't truly engaged yet. Now that Zhang Yu has found the weakness, Su Yanyang should soon reveal the true power of his intelligent architecture."

...

On the competition field.

Su Yanyang’s gaze seemed to pierce through layers of obstruction, fixing upon Zhang Yu and his two companions as they stepped into his formation.

Yet, the trio, who should have been under his constant observation, suddenly vanished without a trace.

The soul cultivator acting as the formation spirit sent a message: They dug a hole and went underground.

Su Yanyang: Useless. How did he find it?

Formation Spirit: We are too short-handed.

Su Yanyang: Do you want a bad review?

Seeing the other party fall silent, Su Yanyang shook his head slightly. "That is the trouble with soul cultivators; they love making excuses. By comparison, artifact spirits are far more obedient."

Su Yanyang had once been fortunate enough to test high-intelligence artifact spirits. In his view, their obedience, efficiency, self-discipline, and learning capacity far surpassed most soul cultivators.

"It is a pity they are just too expensive."

Considering the price gap between high-intelligence artifact spirits and soul cultivators, Su Yanyang decided to make do with the latter.

...

Under the sweep of dragon-shaped qi, the soil flew, rapidly carving out a tunnel half a person’s height.

Zhang Yu and Tian Yang followed behind Xiao Qingxuan, both stunned by how fast she was digging.

Zhang Yu asked in surprise, "This isn't the Star Firmament Pulse-Opening Technique, is it? What martial art is this? How are you digging so fast?"

Xiao Qingxuan did not answer, thinking to herself, "I can’t exactly tell them this is the tomb-raiding technique perfected by that ancient Golden Core cultivator after years of grave robbing."

Instead, she replied, "They have likely set up a Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array. Since they set it up in such a hurry, we should be fine once we escape the building's perimeter."

"But underground, it is hard to discern direction... Zhang Yu, can you sense where the spiritual energy is converging?"

Using his Three-Eyed Vision, Zhang Yu could perceive the flow of spiritual energy. He marked the direction in his mind, guiding Xiao Qingxuan.

Xiao Qingxuan thought, "Even if that isn't the formation core, it must be a vital node. If we can damage it, we should significantly delay their construction progress."

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu checked the details of the Myriad Ghost Bewilderment Array, asking curiously, "So, was it the formation spirit impersonating Shi Huaiyu and Yu Xinghan to send us those messages?"

Temporarily freed from the formation's influence, Zhang Yu re-established contact with Shi Huaiyu and the others.

Shi Huaiyu replied in the group, "They call it a formation spirit, but Su Yanyang usually just uses soul cultivators."

"Soul cultivators?" Zhang Yu asked, puzzled. "Soul cultivators help them compete? Doesn't that mean they have more than six people?"

Shi Huaiyu was confused. "What does a soul cultivator have to do with the headcount?"

She felt as if Zhang Yu were asking whether an artifact spirit counted as a participant—it was utter nonsense.

Zhang Yu fell silent. He realized that since entering Wanfa University, this was the first time he had truly grasped the status of soul cultivators in the eyes of others.

"Though, this is likely limited to the poor ones," Zhang Yu mused. "Wealthy soul cultivators are probably a different story."

...

Su Yanyang smiled faintly. "Three little mice."

Although the formation spirit had lost track of them once they started digging, a map of the entire field floated before Su Yanyang’s eyes.

The map displayed data on temperature fluctuations, spiritual energy trends, construction progress, spiritual vein parameters, and underground seismic sources.

Integrated from the detection methods of all six team members, it provided a comprehensive view of the entire arena.

Watching a rapidly moving seismic source on the map, Su Yanyang knew that must be Zhang Yu and his companions.

...

Bang!

Amidst flying dirt and sand, the trio crashed into an underground space.

The moment they appeared, a series of billing notifications flashed before them.

"Your account is in arrears by 35 spirit coins. Service will be suspended in 1 minute. Please top up immediately to restore access..."

Tian Yang stared at the message, his heart skipping a beat.

Xiao Qingxuan shouted from the side, "We have broken into the formation again! Ignore the illusions... do not be deceived!"

...

Feeling the tremors in the earth and watching the video feed from the formation spirit, Su Yanyang let out a cold snort. "You’ve arrived?"

At that moment, the great formation beneath his feet became an extension of his own mind. Su Yanyang struck out into the air toward the trio’s location, then clenched his fist tightly.

...

Zhang Yu and his companions felt the earth around them come alive, instantly hardening like high-strength alloy, closing in on them.

Feeling the terrifying pressure from all sides, Zhang Yu threw a punch, a series of dragon roars erupting.

Just moments ago, while digging, Xiao Qingxuan had channeled twenty strikes of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Firmament Palm into his body.

Now, those twenty strikes exploded at once. The air boiled, transforming into waves of force that tore through the underground space, shattering the closing earth.

Striking and retreating, the three dove back into the tunnel, following Xiao Qingxuan as she dug rapidly away.

Zhang Yu: He seems to have been prepared.

Tian Yang: It must be that our digging caused too much vibration and he detected us.

Xiao Qingxuan: Split up.

...

Su Yanyang watched the seismic sources multiply on his map and muttered, "Splitting up, are we?"

"No, it’s not just the three of them splitting up. They are likely using human-shaped and dragon-shaped qi to create decoys."

As a cautious man, Su Yanyang never fought an unprepared battle.

He had questioned Ma Xuan thoroughly about their previous combat, and he understood Zhang Yu’s methods well.

He knew Zhang Yu excelled at a technique involving human-shaped qi with a range of over sixty meters.

He also knew Xiao Qingxuan favored the Nine Dragons Heavenly Firmament Palm, with a qi transmission range of nearly a hundred meters.

"They are likely using long-range qi transmission to create seismic decoys and interfere with my detection."

"Very well."

Su Yanyang surveyed the construction progress: "Are we at fifty percent?"

He sent a message to his competition group: Deploy the living piles.

Simultaneously, in five corners of the site, a desiccated corpse was driven into the earth at each location, connected to the spirit realm, and infused with souls drawn from the beyond.

...

Within the spirit realm, Jiao Lei’s eyes brightened: "Sentient living piles? An architectural steward?"

Beside him, Wei Huai nodded repeatedly: "More than that. This fuses living pile techniques, intelligent construction, and blood sacrifice into one."

"If I am not mistaken, those five piles are original bodies transformed into original souls."

"The array's progress has surged, its operation is now more refined, and the structural integrity has been greatly bolstered."

Under the observers' gaze, a vast amount of spiritual energy began to converge along the spirit veins toward the structures built by Su Yanyang’s team, their share of the spirit vein reaching forty percent in the blink of an eye.

Lang Yougong watched this, thinking to himself: "Things are getting difficult now. What will Zhang Yu and his two companions do?"

"Hmm? Will they continue to split up?"

"With the array and building strength enhanced, it will be hard for them to cause damage if they remain scattered."

But the next moment, Lang Yougong was slightly surprised: "Eating?"

He watched as Zhang Yu opened his mouth and swallowed a massive pile of building materials, then quickly channeled his energy, rhythmically striking his body to accelerate digestion.

Observing this, Lang Yougong nodded slightly, lost in thought: "Eating... that is indeed a clever method."

"Ingestion is the best way to hide materials, tools, and even fellow workers on a site; it is an essential skill for every laborer."

"If Su Yanyang is fighting with grand projects and a focus on the global picture,"

"Then Zhang Yu is fighting with small tricks and minor techniques—the way of a worker."

Yet Lang Yougong did not underestimate Zhang Yu’s strategy, for he knew that a thousand-mile levee could collapse from an ant hole; many vast, vital projects had been ruined by such incremental erosion.

Especially here in the arena, where materials could not be replenished, "eating" was a highly effective way to stall the opponent’s construction.

"But Zhang Yu can only eat so much before he must leave. The efficiency is too low. What will you do next?"

Soon, however, the trio’s operational pattern shifted once more.

Nearby, Tu Lishan’s eyes flickered: "Zhang Yu is hiding in the deepest point, focusing on digesting materials. Hmm? Not just digesting—he is beginning to process them. Is he planning to build something on the spot?"

"Xiao Qingxuan is excavating tunnels, establishing a sprawling underground network while marking the locations of stored materials."

"Tian Yang is acting as the porter, hauling materials to Zhang Yu to fuel his consumption and processing."

In Tu Lishan’s eyes, the three had transformed into a production line, constantly scavenging and converting the site's materials to drag down Su Yanyang’s progress.

A teacher nodded, sighing: "For the three of them to grasp the site layout so quickly, build a transport network, manage high-speed logistics, identify materials, and handle processing—their civil engineering skills are truly excellent."

Hearing the analysis from the civil engineering faculty, the Magnetic Pole True Monarch asked: "So good? Does that mean your disciple is going to win again?"

Director Gao replied via private message: They are going to lose, don't ask.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Oh? Why?

Director Gao: Su Yanyang has already won; he is now trying to drive the completion percentage of Zhang Yu’s buildings low enough.

Director Gao: If their building completion rate is low enough, Zhang Yu and his team’s ranking in the top ten will drop accordingly.

Director Gao: That increases the probability of Su Yanyang taking a top-seven spot.

Director Gao: It also ensures the overall ranking of the War Faction remains lower.

——

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(End of chapter)