Chapter 452: Clubhouse Bombing Case

Chapter 452: The Club Explosion

Inside the quiet room.

Zhang Yu flicked his fingertips, and a mound of metallic powder before him danced in response to the tremors of his mana, shifting fluidly from a perfect sphere into a swirling cloud of mist.

"Turning Earth to Gold," the sixth of the Seven Wonders of Earth and Wood, was a martial art capable of refining metal through the manipulation of mana.

For Zhang Yu, however, the practice of this technique was far less tedious than for others; he simply needed to guide the metallic powder through endless permutations to accumulate the necessary repetitions.

After several hours, Zhang Yu finally pushed "Turning Earth to Gold" to level 10 and let out a soft, relieved breath.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by the voice of Xiao Yunjie.

Xiao Yunjie: "Zhang Yu, are you finished? We are about to depart."

Zhang Yu opened the door and said, "Yes, let's go."

Walking beside him, Xiao Yunjie suddenly asked, "Zhang Yu... what is the reason you use your raw flesh rather than a Dharma Shell to drive your techniques?"

"If it is inconvenient to answer, you don't have to."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and replied casually, "I wish to maintain the cultivation of my physical body. I plan to use a custom-made Dharma Shell in the future. When the time comes, I will refine this tempered body into both a shell and a magical treasure, controlled entirely by my own will. Wouldn't that be even stronger?"

Xiao Yunjie remarked, "But that path... is very expensive."

Zhang Yu smiled. "Take it slow. I'll refine as much as I can afford."

Xiao Yunjie looked at Zhang Yu with a complex expression, then suddenly frowned, feeling a sharp sting in her nerves as the internal medicine dispenser of her Dharma Shell automatically triggered an injection.

Noticing the change in her face, Zhang Yu asked, "Is your synchronization rate with the Dharma Shell still failing to improve? Have you considered switching to a lighter model?"

Xiao Yunjie was taken aback; this was the first time anyone had suggested she downgrade her equipment.

"That would lower my strength," she said. "My scores, my ranking, my income... they would all drop accordingly."

"True," Zhang Yu conceded. "But if you keep going like this, won't you eventually collapse?"

Xiao Yunjie gritted her teeth. She had intended to earn her military certification so she could discard her current shapeshifting Dharma Shell and, with the influx of investment, focus entirely on the Seven Wonders of Earth and Wood.

But without that certification, she needed this complex shell more than ever to bolster her standing.

Especially with the inter-school league approaching, she had to seize the opportunity to prove her worth to her teachers and her school.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Zhang Yu found that Su Yanyang was nowhere to be seen. Just as the group began to grow impatient, beams of divine light descended, and several True Gods manifested within the club.

"Why are the True Gods here?" Zhang Yu wondered. "Surely they aren't here to raid this place?"

A moment later, one of the True Gods approached them and asked, "Is Su Yanyang your classmate?"

Mo Shangjin’s projection spoke up: "He is here with us for the competition. Is there a problem?"

The True God replied, "Nothing major. It’s just that his cultivation partner’s Yin-artifact suffered a sudden malfunction."

"I am merely here to confirm the details with you."

The True God appeared courteous toward the students from Wanfa University, smiling as he added, "Rest assured, once the investigation above is complete, he will be released. It won't delay you for long."

...

In the room, Su Yanyang stood to the side, looking utterly disgruntled as he replayed the scene in his mind.

"Damn it... how could that Yin-artifact explode right in the middle of things?"

"And it felt like the soul-cultivator inside the artifact did it on purpose, but..."

Su Yanyang frowned. In that exploding artifact... he had sensed that the soul-cultivator hadn't retreated to the Spirit Realm, but had instead been utterly annihilated.

"The soul-cultivator died instantly. This isn't just a simple equipment failure; it’s practically a case of ritual suicide."

Su Yanyang had seen many soul-cultivators in his life, and plenty of corpses, but this was his first time witnessing a soul truly scattered into nothingness.

Meanwhile, the two True Gods were scanning the remains of the artifact, communicating at high speed through the Spirit Realm.

The male True God looked grave. "The Yin-artifact was forced into an overload state before detonation."

The female True God beside him remarked, "So... the soul-cultivator did this himself? He detonated the very tool he worked with? Why would he do such a thing? Was he that desperate to die?"

The male True God replied sternly, "Under normal circumstances, such self-immolation should not occur."

"Check his chat logs. See if he was being manipulated by something."

A flood of text and images materialized before the male True God.

So tired, so tired, so tired, so tired!

I don't want to live anymore!

The debts are impossible to pay off!

Why won't you let me die! Why won't you let me die! Why won't you let me die!

Reading the manic content, the male True God’s brow furrowed deeper. "As expected, his mind was compromised. This is clearly the work of a cult."

"And most of the chat history has been deleted. There isn't a single mention of today's operation."

"Hmph, this was premeditated."

"Not only did they arrange a suicide, but they also intended to... incidentally harm the students from Wanfa University?"

Hearing this, the female True God’s eyes shifted. "Senior, you seem very familiar with this sort of thing?"

The male True God nodded. "Causing someone to commit suicide and scatter their soul, leaving nothing of value behind... it’s almost certainly the Feathered Demon Sect."

"The Feathered Demon Sect?" the female True God asked curiously.

"A group of fanatics who wander about, corrupting minds and driving people to self-destruction," he explained.

"Sigh, when the Qiongjiang currency rises, the followers of the Dual Cultivation Sect increase. Just as the currency drops and the Dual Cultivation Sect wanes, this Feathered Demon Sect begins to grow."

The male True God sighed. "With conflicts between universities becoming frequent, these evil cults are growing increasingly restless."

The female True God was more concerned with the nature of the sect. "A cult that drives people to suicide and soul-annihilation? Do people actually believe in this? Are the believers all fools?"

The male True God nodded. "There are always those who cannot endure hardship, who refuse to work, refuse to take responsibility, refuse to pay their debts, and refuse to contribute to the construction of Kunxu. In the end, these cults take advantage of their weakness, corroding their minds with demonic arts."

"Who knows how many bad debts this sect adds to Kunxu every year? How many useful talents are lost? They are even more insane and wicked than the Dual Cultivation or the Unemployed Sects..."

The female True God looked at Su Yanyang. "What about him? Could he be involved?"

"I’ve checked his records," the male True God said. "He is driven, works twenty-four hours a day, and has never hesitated on the path of the Immortal Dao. He doesn't fit the profile of a cultist."

He paused, then added, "But I fear he may have been influenced."

"The Feathered Demon Sect’s methods are highly seductive; they are easily imitated."

"And... it is possible they will try to contact this Su Yanyang in the future."

"But more importantly, the owner of this Yin-artifact may have been brainwashed. Let's investigate that lead first."

After their discussion, the male True God turned to the disgruntled Su Yanyang. "Young man, are you alright?"

Su Yanyang nodded. "Sirs, I have a competition to attend. Do you know when I might be able to leave?"

The male True God smiled slightly. "The matter is largely cleared up. Once we finish our final sweep, you may go. Don't worry, it won't be much longer."

Su Yanyang asked, "Cleared up? It was the artifact that exploded on its own, right? How is the owner going to compensate me?"

"For compensation, you must negotiate with the other party yourself," the True God replied. "If you cannot agree, file a lawsuit. That is outside our jurisdiction."

"What I need to discuss with you now is the matter of confidentiality."

As a top student of Wanfa University, you should know that such incidents of self-detonation are not to be made public; to the outside world, it can only be reported as a malfunction of the Yin artifact.

Su Yanyang nodded, well aware that such actions had always been strictly condemned and suppressed within Kunxu.

The male deity continued, To prevent others from imitating this, the details of this case must remain classified, so I must trouble you to sign a non-disclosure agreement with us.

Su Yanyang paused, the image of the soul cultivator within that artifact dissipating into nothingness flashing through his mind. He wondered to himself, Is this the reason?

Su Yanyang nodded and said, No problem.

The male deity added, Furthermore, since it was a Dharma-remnant malfunction and you were in direct contact with it, should any issues arise with your own body, remember to contact us immediately.

...

Ten minutes later.

Zhang Yu, Xiao Qingxuan, and the others waiting at the entrance of the clubhouse were growing impatient.

Li Zhen remarked, Why is he taking so long? If we wait any longer, we will be late for the competition.

Xiao Yunjie suggested, Perhaps we should just leave; five of us are more than enough to defeat the team from Jinhe University.

Just as they were deliberating, a loud bang echoed, and Su Yanyang vaulted directly out of the window, landing steadily before them.

Zhang Yu looked at Su Yanyang, who had finally descended, and asked, You are finally here; what took so long?

Su Yanyang replied helplessly, I encountered a malfunction in their Dharma-remnant; the Yin artifact exploded, and then I had to negotiate the compensation.

Zhang Yu exclaimed, The Yin artifact exploded?

Zhang Yu had only asked casually, but now he felt that such a major event required a thorough explanation.

Come, come, Zhang Yu said with keen interest, tell me exactly what happened.

Su Yanyang replied, We are almost out of time for the competition.

Zhang Yu said with an eager expression, Tell me while we walk.

And so, on the way to the competition venue, Su Yanyang recounted the story he had agreed upon with the deities.

After his explanation, Su Yanyang concluded, ...In short, it was just a malfunction of the Dharma-remnant, nothing special.

Mo Shangjin asked, Were you injured?

Su Yanyang said, No, I remained twelve parts cautious from start to finish, thinking only that I would not let a single thing slip to the other side, nor let them earn a single spirit coin from me.

So, the moment it exploded, I retreated immediately.

However, the matter of compensation is still up for discussion.

As they spoke, Zhang Yu, Su Yanyang, and the others arrived at the competition grounds.

(End of chapter)