Chapter 446: The Winner Has Won, The Loser Is Not Defeated

Chapter 446: The Victor Has Won, the Vanquished Remains Unvanquished

As the twenty strikes of the Nine Heavens Void dissipated, Ping Han roared, bursting from the earth to meet Zhang Yu in a whirlwind of scythe-shadows.

Thunderous booms erupted across the battlefield, sounding like a thousand claps of lightning.

The blade-aura in Ping Han’s grip transformed into a sky of emerald radiance, shimmering like a blinding comet.

The palm-prints Zhang Yu unleashed carried a potent fusion of gold and white, a tornado tearing through the firmament to engulf his opponent.

Where the green and gold forces collided, the air shattered with hundreds of deafening reports in every heartbeat.

Ping Han felt the power of his own blade-aura twisted and diverted with every swing, only to be hurled back at him as palm-strikes.

Woven into these were Zhang Yu’s own reserves—the Golden Jade Wall, the Earth-Shattering Bottle, and the Ground-Suppressing Seal—all transmuted by the Nine Heavens Void energy into a relentless barrage.

Amidst this fierce exchange, Ping Han found himself utterly suppressed.

He attempted to ramp up his special effects, invoking the Torrent of Humanity, but it failed to sway Zhang Yu.

"Has he deactivated his Eye-Bone?" Ping Han wondered.

Indeed, Zhang Yu had. Having completed his appraisal and memorized the weaknesses in Ping Han’s armor, he had shuttered the artifact.

Now, he relied solely on flesh, spirit, and aura. Every ounce of strength and every flicker of thought was squeezed dry to secure victory.

Strike! Strike! Strike again!

Ping Han felt as though he were drowning in a sea of palms.

Zhang Yu was a tsunami, and no matter how many blades Ping Han unleashed, they were returned to him twofold.

Boom!

A palm slammed into Ping Han’s back, yet he stood tall, continuing the fight with cold composure.

"How long can you sustain such intensity?" Ping Han mused. "Do you truly believe your martial arts can shatter this armor? How could mere training ever rival the cost of such steel?"

But Zhang Yu’s assault never faltered, and soon, Ping Han’s confidence curdled into hesitation.

Just as he thought the onslaught was waning, the pressure surged back to its peak within seconds.

Doubt gave way to disbelief.

Finally, as a palm struck his leg, a crisp crack echoed from beneath his armor.

"What?!"

In an instant, more cracks splintered through the plating, and wild aura surged into the gaps, ravaging his body.

Amidst the thuds of impact, blood mist erupted from Ping Han’s frame.

He roared, attempting to retreat, only to find a bloodied figure crashing into him.

"Ping Han!"

Zhang Yu, cloaked in crimson aura, seized his arm.

"If that money you’re trading is truly yours," Zhang Yu hissed, "why are you afraid to risk it all?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Ping Han bellowed, his free hand weaving a blade-aura to strike.

At point-blank range, they engaged in a brutal, intimate slaughter.

Ping Han’s blade tore through Zhang Yu’s crimson aura, while Zhang Yu’s palms hammered through the fissures in the armor into Ping Han’s flesh.

Suddenly, Ping Han felt his internal spirit-bone falter; the hand wielding the blade went limp.

"What?!"

Under Ping Han’s shocked gaze, the blood-soaked Zhang Yu gripped his head.

"The financial pressure of your trading, Ping Han—it keeps you from going all in. Because that money? It isn’t really yours."

Zhang Yu’s other hand, wreathed in red, struck Ping Han’s limbs in rapid succession, paralyzing the spirit-bones in his hands and feet.

"A tiny bit of risk, and your position is liquidated," Zhang Yu said coldly. "You don't dare go all out because you fear the market, you fear the leverage, you fear having no cash to cover your margins. Even at the bitter end, you hold back, terrified to gamble everything."

Boom!

Zhang Yu hurled Ping Han forward. As the man became a black streak, Zhang Yu caught up, slamming him into the ground with a fist.

"Fight back, Ping Han! You have reserves, you have money—why won't you use them? Are you afraid that if you spend your balance, you won't be able to face the volatility of the Nectar Coin?"

Ping Han gritted his teeth, staring at the man who hammered him into the dirt. He wanted to strike, but suppressed the urge again and again.

With a thunderous crash, Zhang Yu shattered the chest plate and held Ping Han’s head, whispering coldly, "Surrender. That’s what you’re thinking, isn't it? Because if you keep fighting, you won't win. And it might hurt your trades."

Ping Han stared back, his face flushing with shame and rage as the truth hit home.

As he was pinned, the spectators wailed, and the sky above the arena filled with holographic text.

"Don't, Zhang Yu! Let him go! You're ruining the coin price!"

"Please, stop!"

Zhang Yu, his Eye-Bone reactivated, looked up and roared, "Stop trading! Do you really think you can get rich lying down?!"

He shook Ping Han by the head. "Look at him! Is he even a worthy opponent anymore?"

The sky fell silent for a heartbeat.

Then, a burst of laughter erupted.

Ping Han pointed to the coin price on his chest. "It’s up again. 16.91! Everyone! It’s rising!"

Zhang Yu slammed a fist into Ping Han’s head. With a sickening pop, blood mist sprayed from the helmet.

The next moment, Ping Han surrendered.

"Zhang Yu, the victory of this battle belongs to you."

"You are right; in my eyes, you are not as important as trading coins."

Ping Han stripped off his armor and helmet, gazing toward the heavens. With one finger pointing at the sky and the other at the coin price displayed on his chest, he roared, "Look, everyone! The coin price has risen again!"

"Do not fret in vain; how could the outcome of a trivial Civil Engineering competition possibly affect the rise and fall of the Qiongjiang Coin?"

"This is the grand strategy of the Soul Transformation stage. The more you buy now, the faster it rises, and the more you earn!"

Zhang Yu looked at Ping Han—his nasal bone shattered, his face smeared with blood and swollen with bruises. He watched as the man, despite being covered in wounds, spoke to the crowd with such fervor, as if he were the true victor of the day.

Meanwhile, the textual projections in the sky shifted once more, gradually unifying into vast, cascading waves of characters...

Buy! Buy! Buy! Rise! Buy! Rise! Rise!

Watching that relentless torrent of text, Zhang Yu felt as if he could peer through the Spirit Realm network to see countless twisted, fanatical faces.

Beside him, Ping Han burst into laughter, shouting, "Everyone, buy Qiongjiang Coins together! Let us sprint toward the path of immortality with all our might!"

Sprint! Sprint! Buy! Rise! Buy! Sprint!

Observing this scene, a trace of helplessness welled up in Zhang Yu’s heart: "These people..."

Fu Ji remarked, "Don't overthink it. Isn't the purpose of a poor man's existence merely to be harvested by the rich?"

"Ping Han was right about one thing: the poor are not really human; at best, they are merely ghosts."

"This Qiongjiang Coin is their tribulation. Only those who survive it have a chance for a ghost to transform into a human."

"Even for such a slim chance, there are countless people desperate to reach up and grasp it."

Zhang Yu whispered to Fu Ji in his mind, "I just feel that the task Director Gao asked me to complete... I have failed."

Fu Ji replied, "Director Gao never expected you to do it alone. Besides, this is a clash of the Soul Transformation stage; you are merely caught in the crossfire."

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred at these words: "A clash of the Soul Transformation stage? You mean... the Qiongjiang Coin has already infringed upon the interests of other Soul Transformation masters, and they will move against the Qiongjiang Divine Lord?"

Fu Ji said, "It is inevitable. Whether it is a university or a vocational college, which one is not under the influence of the Soul Transformation stage?"

"To stand one's ground within such a current is already a perilous feat; to swim against it is harder still."

Just as Fu Ji spoke, Zhang Yu’s gaze flickered as new messages appeared before him.

Che Yufei: Senior, should I really sell?

Shi Huaiyu: Junior, you sold everything?

Su Yanyang: Brother, is there really a risk?

Fu Ji chuckled, "Look, it had an effect after all. In the end, there are still people influenced by your actions today."

At that same moment, the instant Ping Han surrendered, Ji Yuanxu and the other four teammates also chose to concede.

They hurried to join Ping Han and left the arena, yet there was no gloom of defeat on their faces; instead, they chatted and laughed, discussing the growth of the coin price.

On the other side, as Zhang Yu led his teammates away from the arena, he could sense that, apart from Xiao Qingxuan, everyone else wore expressions of conflict, hesitation, and anxiety, with little sign of the excitement that should accompany a victory.

Zhang Yu could not help but say to them, "If you have bought Qiongjiang Coins, sell them quickly."

"If you sell now, you have already made a profit, haven't you?"

Che Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, I will sell right now."

Zhang Yu looked at Shi Huaiyu, who was still hesitating, and said, "Senior, sell them."

Shi Huaiyu said with difficulty, "But... it is still rising."

"Why don't... I wait a few more days."

Zhang Yu shook his head and sighed, having no intention to persuade her further.

Just then, Xiao Qingxuan spoke up from the side, "Huaiyu, sell them. Do you want to lose everything like before? Do you want to go back to using a ghost kidney?"

Looking at Xiao Qingxuan’s earnest expression, Shi Huaiyu sighed, "Fine, fine, I’ll sell them."

...

Meanwhile, above the arena.

Jiutian Liu from the Finance Department chuckled, "Ah, it truly is the will of the people."

"Although Zhang Yu’s strength is superior to Ping Han’s, he cannot suppress the will of the people, nor can he suppress the students' determination to get rich."

Yan Qianji sneered from the side, "The will of the people? I only see your Finance Department manipulating the narrative, creating public opinion, and inciting the masses."

Jiutian Liu replied, "Brother Qianji, you have a deep misunderstanding of our Finance Department."

"If you are willing, why not come to our department for a sit-down? I will explain it to you slowly."

"By the way, I can help you find some funds; your Refining Department’s experimental budget is running short, isn't it?"

Yan Qianji tilted his head and said, "Jiutian Liu, your Finance Department will eventually face a reckoning."

"When you are selling off your assets, remember to save a few pieces of your physical body and Dharma remains for me; I will buy them at a high price."

Jiutian Liu smiled, "The economy is sluggish, and many factories in the Refining Department are losing money, right? When you go bankrupt, remember to message me; I will certainly buy them at a fair price."

Their gazes collided within the Spirit Realm, and in the next moment, both figures vanished simultaneously.

In the time that followed, Zhang Yu no longer concerned himself with the Qiongjiang Coin. He studied, cultivated, and attended competitions on schedule, passing his university days in quietude.