Chapter 482: Get Your Stinky Civil Engineering Hands Off! (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 482: Take Your Filthy Civil Engineering Hands Off Me! (Monthly Votes Requested)

The messages from the Seven Emotions Divine Lord continued to flicker and pulse across Bai Zhenzhen’s ocular implant.

Seven Emotions Divine Lord: Are you going to ask him yourself?

Seven Emotions Divine Lord: And what good would asking do?

Seven Emotions Divine Lord: When you feel the need to ask, when you begin to doubt the other, it is not you who has changed, but the other who has shifted.

Bai Zhenzhen did not reply, letting her figure vanish into the swirling clouds of dust and smoke.

"That old fossil..."

Scanning the messages on her implant, she curled her lip. "Always using those archaic philosophies to judge the mindset of a modern youth like me. No wonder your Extreme Emotion Sword Path is facing extinction."

As she thought this, Zhang Yu’s image flashed through her mind once more.

Zhang Yu had truly embarked upon the path of dual cultivation, which explained why he had nearly struck a deal with Wen Wuyai during their conversation.

He had been obsessed with borrowing a divine spirit root all day, but every time he brought it up, he acted so... it seemed the borrowing was a pretense, and the real goal was to seize the chance for dual cultivation!

"Yu-zi has truly changed," she sighed to herself. "He is no longer the boy from high school."

"Is it because he has grown up and finally stepped onto the path of his dreams?"

If Bai Zhenzhen had once held a shaky grasp on the nuances of immortal cultivation, her time as a top student at Heavenly Sword University had given her a profound understanding of the various paths.

Dual cultivation, for instance, was just as legitimate a path as the sterile, ascetic route; the Hehuan University, which specialized in it, was one of the top ten institutions—a true, prestigious lineage.

It was, in fact, a far more perilous road than the ascetic path, demanding a much higher level of spiritual fortitude.

"Back in high school, Yu-zi lacked the perseverance and talent for this. I thought he wasn't suited for it, so I kept urging him to earn enough money and stop obsessing over self-study, to stick to the ascetic path."

"I never imagined I had underestimated him."

Watching Zhang Yu now, she felt as if she were looking at a mischievous child who had once been addicted to self-study, only to grow up and gain glory by being admitted to Hehuan University.

"Since he is now on the right track and achieving results, I should support him."

But as she thought of her own Extreme Emotion Sword Path, her expression darkened.

"Yu-zi has stepped onto a path of light, while I am wandering further and further down a deviant road."

"If this continues, forget about being his closest companion—we might not even be able to remain friends."

A look of helplessness crossed her face. "Should I ask Zhang Yu to quit the world of dual cultivation? To give up his work at the Yin-Artifact Laboratory?"

"How could I?"

"What right do I have, a girl on a crooked path, to ask him to abandon a legitimate career where he has already found success?"

She steeled her resolve. "There is only one way."

"Just one."

"Repent, find a way to pivot from the Extreme Emotion Sword Path, and join Zhang Yu on the path of dual cultivation."

Yet she knew this road would not be easy; it might even be a dead end. For starters, her master, the Seven Emotions Divine Lord, would never easily consent.

"I must plan this carefully..."

Pushing these thoughts aside, Bai Zhenzhen followed the instructions Zhang Yu had left her, moving through the dust toward the heart of the battlefield.

The arena was a scene of utter chaos, scarred by their duel as if by a series of earthquakes, littered with massive craters, fissures, and jagged mounds of earth.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her softened, and she was dragged into the depths by an unseen force.

Knowing this was Zhang Yu using his Heavenly Kunlun mountain-moving power to retrieve her, she did not resist, letting him pull her deep into the earth.

When she saw his familiar silhouette in the subterranean dark, she whispered, "Yu-zi..."

Without a word, Zhang Yu pulled her into a tight embrace.

Feeling the hardness of his body, she stammered, "Not here, Yu-zi! Even underground, even with your formation shielding us, it might not be enough..."

We cannot dual cultivate here! The Seven Emotions Divine Lord might see us!

Dual cultivation itself was fine, but if she were caught with Zhang Yu—who had fully committed to the path—the Lord might decide he was hindering her training and bankrupt him!

Before she could find the words to explain, Zhang Yu simply whispered, "It’s here."

Bai Zhenzhen paused, wondering what he meant, when she felt a sudden shift in the spiritual realm above.

A projection of the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda descended over the audience, and the voice of the Magnetic Pole Divine Lord echoed slowly: "My... experimental subject has broken through?"

"This involves our proprietary data. I would appreciate it if you all refrained from spreading it."

At the same time, under the suppression of the Pagoda, the surrounding spiritual realm seemed to freeze for a moment.

In that instant of stillness, Zhang Yu pulled her even closer, pressing his body against hers.

Then, Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

It entered!

Something had entered her!

A divine spirit root?!

It was the same kind of divine spirit root as mine?!

Zhang Yu actually had this?

He was giving it to her, just like that?

In a heartbeat, she felt their spirit roots connect, merging into one, as if they had become a single entity, finally taking root in her Dantian. And as they fused, a miraculous transformation sparked between them!

To Zhang Yu’s relief, the uncontrolled, violent surge he had feared did not occur. The roots remained in a hidden state, and he did not need to use the Dao Seed Catalog from his Feather Book to swap out the Green Lotus Sword Embryo’s spirit root.

"Is it because of the replication?" Zhang Yu mused. "Two of them."

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen with her mouth agape and eyes wide, he grinned. "Impressive, right?"

"Shocked?"

"Pretty badass, huh?"

Looking at his smug expression, she bit her lip, glared at him, and snapped, "Zhang Yu, you’ve ruined me!"

"Huh?" Zhang Yu asked, confused.

"My Extreme Emotion Sword cultivation has surged..." she thought to herself.

She opened her mouth, murmuring, "I’m never going to be able to turn back from this evil path now."

...

Just a moment earlier.

Outside the arena.

Su Yanyang, Shi Huaiyu, and the others emerged.

"Where is Zhang Yu?" Shi Huaiyu asked.

"He said he left a magical artifact in the arena," Su Yanyang replied casually. "He stayed behind to look for it."

Xiao Yunjie said excitedly, "With this win, we’re one step closer to the finals."

"Especially with Zhang Yu’s Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power reaching level 18, our chances of fighting our way to the end of the losers' bracket are immense!"

Watching his teammates brimming with excitement, Su Yanyang felt a sudden wave of listlessness, a pang of envy stirring in his heart for Zhang Yu.

"Sigh, to have boosted his cultivation technique by eight levels through the Yin-artifact experiment... how truly exhilarating."

"Still, I don't have to do much; as long as I follow in Zhang Yu's wake, we'll keep on winning, which isn't half bad."

Just then, the team from Wanfa University crossed paths with Yue Guanqiong and his companions, who were also exiting the arena.

Yue Guanqiong and his peers wore grim expressions, looking for all the world like men burdened by a mountain of debt.

Upon catching sight of Su Yanyang and the others, Yue Guanqiong demanded, "Where is Zhang Yu?"

"He destroyed so many flying swords; he owes us compensation."

Mo Shangjin remarked in the competition group chat: Look, they tried to extort me just like this last year.

As the two sides confronted one another, a projection of the Magnetic Pole Monarch suddenly descended, the Nine Heavens Primordial Sun Pagoda appearing before their eyes in a blaze of ten thousand rays of light.

The Magnetic Pole Monarch swept her gaze across the arena, then flicked her eyes over the message Zhang Yu had sent her.

Zhang Yu: Teacher, my Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power has broken through again.

Zhang Yu: But ever since I entered Heaven Sword University, I have felt as though I am being watched.

Zhang Yu: I fear someone covets the experimental results and may act against me after the match.

The next moment, a sword shadow manifested opposite the Magnetic Pole Monarch, speaking coldly: "Magnetic Pole, this is Heaven Sword University, not Wanfa University; it is not your place to seal the spirit realm."

As the sword shadow danced through the spirit realm, the space that had momentarily frozen under the pressure of the Nine Heavens Primordial Sun Pagoda surged back to life.

The Magnetic Pole Monarch remained unfazed, for she had no intention of sparking a war with Heaven Sword University.

Her projection, bolstered by the presence of the Nine Heavens Primordial Sun Pagoda, was more than enough to deter anyone here from forcibly prying into Zhang Yu’s affairs.

"Unless they truly wish to engage me in a direct confrontation."

With a cold snort, she ignored her adversary and looked down at the arena, stating indifferently: "I am merely looking for my students from Wanfa University; surely that is not a problem?"

With a flick of her finger, a talisman flared, and a gale erupted from the arena floor, scattering the thick dust to reveal two figures standing within.

As the haze cleared, Zhang Yu moved to step aside, only to find his body held fast; Bai Zhenzhen had gripped his hand firmly.

"Ah-Zhen?" He turned his head, looking at her in surprise.

Meanwhile, outside the arena, Yue Guanqiong and his group were still demanding compensation for their swords.

When they saw Zhang Yu emerging from the arena, hand-in-hand with Bai Zhenzhen, the students of Heaven Sword University shuddered, their minds reeling with silent screams.

"Bai... Bai Zhenzhen!"

"Why? Why is Bai Zhenzhen here?"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Our noble Nascent Soul disciple of Heaven Sword University, the ace of the Flying Sword Department! Why is she holding the filthy hand of Zhang Yu, that civil engineering laborer!"

The next moment, as Wen Wuyai let out a soft chuckle and stepped to Zhang Yu’s side, Yue Guanqiong felt the world turn black, whispering to himself: "This world... has gone mad!!"

—

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(End of Chapter)