Chapter 481: Fuse for War? (Thanks to 'Zisang Lingfeng')

Chapter 481: A Catalyst for War? (Thanks to 'Zisang Lingfeng' for gifting Bai Zhenzhen 10 pairs of silk stockings)

Feeling the surge of Zhang Yu’s aura, Yue Guanqiong felt a jolt in his heart as he watched the colossal mountain, blotting out the sky, being hurled toward him by Zhang Yu.

"A breakthrough in the heat of battle? Twice in a row?"

"Or did Wanfa conceal the intelligence, and the breakthrough brought about by the Yin artifact experiment actually pushed Zhang Yu to the 18th level of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, rather than the 16th?"

"Or perhaps it is the lingering effect of the Yin artifact experiment... that the accumulation and resources required for the cultivation advancement were already completed during his experiments, and today’s intense competition merely accelerated the digestion process, ushering in a new breakthrough..."

Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, only to be suppressed by Yue Guanqiong one by one.

Because he knew that regardless of the reason for Zhang Yu’s breakthrough, he had no time to ponder such things.

The immediate priority was to block the massive mountain descending with the force of a crumbling world.

With a thunderous roar, Yue Guanqiong’s Great Freedom Instant-Prison Sword Qi erupted with full force; countless sword blades surged from the sword formation, soaring into the sky like metallic torrents, howling as they slammed into the giant mountain.

"Break apart for me!"

Amidst the deafening explosions, the mountain was continuously pulverized under the bombardment of the metallic torrent, large sections of rock shattering into clouds of debris and dust.

But just as the mountain was being sliced and dismantled, Zhang Yu reached out and grabbed at the earth from afar, causing massive amounts of sand and stone to shoot skyward and merge into the mountain.

"Move the Mountain!"

"Smash them all down!"

Behind him, Su Yanyang, Shi Huaiyu, and the others channeled their energy in unison, activating the formation together.

Su Yanyang: "Zhang Yu! We are here to lend you a hand!"

Shi Huaiyu: "Do not give them a chance to counterattack!"

With a resounding boom, a torrential mudslide was suddenly unleashed, bringing with it earthen dragons that joined Zhang Yu’s giant mountain.

At the same time, Yue Guanqiong shouted lowly: "Hold the line with me!"

"If he wants to move mountains, we shall carve through them!"

"Sword, come!"

Under the efforts of the other Tianjian University team members, vast quantities of sand and stone were transformed into sword blades, sent before Yue Guanqiong for him to wield, shattering the mountain that descended from the sky, drawing ever closer to their aerial fortress.

Amidst the thunderous roar, mountain bodies, rock strata, metal, and silt collided violently with the will of both sides, producing earth-shattering explosions.

The smoke and dust rising into the sky nearly swallowed the entire arena.

Xiang Shan of Tianyao University watched this scene and sighed: "Wanfa is digging and moving mountains, while Tianjian is carving and breaking ground."

"This is a contest of the purest and most fundamental construction capabilities."

Beside him, Wan Gouxuan from Xianbing University nodded: "Using extreme focus and limit-pushing strength to drive a construction instinct honed countless times; the winner must be the side with the highest construction efficiency."

The next moment, as the giant mountain gradually sank, the mountain body and the aerial fortress collided violently.

In the deafening crash, the Tianjian University aerial fortress began to tilt, slowly descending like a shipwreck sinking into the water.

Xiang Shan lamented: "Yue Guanqiong is still leading his team in a desperate resistance, but just as in the previous battle, the Great Freedom Instant-Prison Sword Qi could suppress Zhang Yu through distance."

"Now that the distance has closed, the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power holds the advantage..."

As he spoke, the aerial fortress floating in mid-air suddenly disintegrated, as if being torn apart by invisible hands, sending large fragments raining down from the sky.

As the mountain and the fortress descended together, sword qi whistled and dust soared; clearly, the resistance from Tianjian University continued.

This resistance did not cease even after the fortress crashed into the ground; instead, it became even more intense.

But as the battlefield shifted to the ground, Zhang Yu’s advantage widened further.

Watching the earth heave like boiling water, churning and shattering everything in its path, Xiang Shan said indifferently: "It is over."

Beside him, Wan Gouxuan nodded slightly but remained silent.

Although the match had ended, their expressions grew more solemn as they recalled the process of Zhang Yu’s breakthrough during the battle.

Truth be told, in the eyes of Xiang Shan and Wan Gouxuan... a breakthrough in the heat of battle was nothing rare; after all, cultivators practiced their arts daily, and breaking through during a competition was often just a coincidence.

Breaking through twice in a short period was rare, yet not unheard of in history; if a fierce battle dragged on, some geniuses had been known to break through three or four times while fighting.

Even those with higher talent in ancient history had broken through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, or Golden Core to Nascent Soul during combat; after all, the ancient era required no certifications, and there were no illegal breakthroughs.

But if Xiang Shan were to speak, he desperately hoped Zhang Yu was such a peerless genius, hoping that Zhang Yu had achieved this 2-level cultivation breakthrough through his own talent.

"No matter how powerful a peerless genius is, it is merely the strength of one person."

Xiang Shan thought to himself: "But Zhang Yu’s breakthrough today likely represents a breakthrough in Wanfa’s Immortal Dao technology."

"If that is the case, then the Wanfa of the future... will likely see many more such students born."

"Not only might the Civil Engineering Department see more Zhang Yus, but students from other departments will also become stronger."

"If so, this is no longer just a matter of a competition."

"Just in the field of civil engineering, if Wanfa possesses more high-efficiency construction personnel, they can further lower construction costs and gain a massive advantage in project competition."

Xiang Shan knew that in construction projects, Wanfa University and Tianyao University had always been in fierce competition.

Once Wanfa University gained the advantage and secured more projects, it meant fewer projects, less work, and less income for Tianyao University...

"If something like this happens, and it happens before I graduate..." Just thinking about this, Xiang Shan desperately hoped that Zhang Yu was a damn peerless genius, a genius who broke through solely by his own martial talent.

...

"Break through by his own talent? How is that possible?"

Wang Yin, also standing in the Spirit Realm spectator stands, looked toward the arena, his eyes flickering with unfathomable light.

"The Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power was already forcibly raised from level 10 to 16 by a Yin artifact; is it possible to break through again on his own in just a few days?"

"Either Wanfa hid the information and he had already reached level 18 in the laboratory, but what would be the point of that?"

"The greater possibility is that with the aid of the Yin artifact, he had already completed the accumulation required for the breakthrough, and was stimulated during the competition, leading to these successive breakthroughs."

"Perhaps if the battle continued and he was stimulated further, he could break through again."

Thinking of this, Wang Yin’s heart began to stir.

"Regardless of the specific process, the result is the same: Wanfa has indeed achieved a major breakthrough in Yin artifact and dual-cultivation technology."

"The situation is about to change."

"The progress of the University War will be greatly accelerated."

"Chaos is coming."

"An unprecedented opportunity is about to descend."

Thinking of this, Wang Yin could not help but feel excited.

...

"The Great Freedom Instant-Prison Sword Qi is still too weak; the distance is too close, the operation lacks the subtlety of refined swordsmanship, and it lacks the ability to open multi-line battlefields; it is only suitable for doing manual labor for the Civil Engineering Department."

Wen Wuyai glanced at the collapsed aerial fortress, a casual evaluation of the Great Freedom Instant-Prison Sword Qi flashing through her mind, and she stopped thinking about the competition.

After all, to her, compared to the outcome of the competition, Zhang Yu’s breakthrough was what interested her most.

"Wanfa’s dual-cultivation technology has indeed broken through, but where does this breakthrough originate?"

"They lack the heritage of dual cultivation techniques; it is highly unlikely they achieved this breakthrough on their own."

Recalling the recent incident involving the riot of yin artifacts at Hehuan University, Wen Wuya felt the truth had become painfully obvious.

"Either Wanfa plundered a batch of those artifacts, or they took them in after the fact; in any case, it is highly probable that Zhang Yu is merely a temporary result derived from decrypting the artifacts of the Nectar God-Monarch."

"However, the road from a laboratory prototype to true utility, and eventually to mass production, is long and fraught with variables."

"Especially considering that only a few months have passed between the artifact riots and this current breakthrough."

"In such a short span, it is likely that Wanfa has only managed to decipher... how to operate the Nectar God-Monarch's artifacts."

"They are surely nowhere near the point of replicating the underlying technology, let alone manufacturing products."

At this thought, a subtle smile played upon Wen Wuya’s lips: "But the Nectar God-Monarch will certainly not let this go unanswered. Will a conflict at the God-Monarch level erupt between Wanfa and Hehuan?"

"And how, then, will the two God-Monarchs of our own academy choose to act?"

Deep in contemplation, Wen Wuya fell into a profound silence.

...

In the spectator stands.

Watching the earth boil and the contestants of Heavenly Sword University one by one choosing to surrender, Bai Zhenzhen could not help but clench her fist and pump it into the air, cheering inwardly: "Yu-zi won!"

The information from the Seven Emotions God-Monarch flickered across her retina: You wouldn't be cheering for the victory of Wanfa University, would you?

Bai Zhenzhen denied it: "How could I! I am a student of Heavenly Sword University."

The Seven Emotions God-Monarch chuckled, then said indifferently: "As it stands, Zhang Yu has completely fallen into the path of dual cultivation."

"His military-grade techniques have relied on dual cultivation for every breakthrough; he will inevitably become obsessed with it in the future."

"Especially with him cooperating in Wanfa's experiments, he will only wander further and further down this road."

The Seven Emotions God-Monarch sighed, then continued: "This means that he and you, who practice the Extreme Emotion Sword Path, are no longer on the same journey."

"Outsiders may not know the conflict between the two."

"But you, practicing the Extreme Emotion Path, should understand..."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly and said: "Yes, unlike me, who has stepped onto the heretical path of Extreme Emotion, Yu-zi has embarked on the righteous path of dual cultivation."

After three years of cultivation, Bai Zhenzhen had confirmed one thing: although the Extreme Emotion Path is not as demonic as the Dual Cultivation Sect or the No-Karma Sect, it is nonetheless a path of utter depravity.

Seven Emotions God-Monarch: "How many times must I say it? The Extreme Emotion path is the righteous way; dual cultivation is the heresy."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded perfunctorily, thinking to herself: "Yes, yes, the whole world is wrong, and only you are right."

As the competition drew to a close, Bai Zhenzhen’s figure flickered, and she vanished, rushing toward the dust-choked arena.

(End of chapter)