Chapter 495: Plagiarism and Zombies (Thanks to 'Hammer Doctor Who Saves the Dying and Heals the Injured')

Chapter 495: Plagiarism and Zombies (Thanks to "Hammer Doctor Who Saves Lives" for the alliance leader reward)

As the flying vessel cut through the horizon, it arrived above the Immortal Soldier University.

Zhang Yu looked down at the abyss, thousands of meters in diameter, its bottom lost to darkness. Yet, one could still discern a multitude of light clusters shimmering in the depths; these, it was said, were the factories buried deep beneath the university.

Along the sheer rock walls of the chasm, countless lights flickered. Buildings were anchored directly into the cliffside, jutting out and reaching upward as if desperate to touch the sky, filling the massive cavern with a chaotic sprawl of architecture.

At that moment, a stream of pollution warnings flickered across Zhang Yu’s ocular implants.

Gazing into the Nine Nether Abyss below, Zhang Yu reflected that this university suffered from the most severe miasma pollution of any he had visited.

Upon disembarking, the group immediately rented protective artifacts; otherwise, they would be restricted to only a few designated zones within the campus.

Leaving the docking platform, a massive advertisement for "Extreme Tiger" loomed before them.

Mo Shangjin sighed, "Immortal Soldier University is the birthplace of Extreme Tiger. It was founded by the disciples of several Deity-Transformation cultivators. In its early days, it catered only to the wealthy, leveraging a corporate culture of 'profit above all' to grow into the university’s most prominent enterprise."

As they walked, Zhang Yu noticed that every student they passed wore Extreme Tiger ocular implants, making his own group look like outsiders.

"The students here really do use Extreme Tiger for everything," Zhang Yu remarked.

Mo Shangjin replied, "It’s said that three out of every ten students here work for Extreme Tiger, and the school’s own procurement of magical remains is dominated by the brand."

"Price is also a major factor. Look at the local hardware platform; Extreme Tiger products are sold very cheaply here."

Zhang Yu took a cursory glance and found them significantly cheaper than at Myriad Dharma University, tempting him to buy a batch to resell.

However, after calculating the taxes, he decided against it.

He then noticed many high-end Extreme Tiger models, which looked increasingly familiar.

"These high-end models seem to be..." Zhang Yu began.

"Plagiarized, of course," Mo Shangjin interrupted. "Extreme Tiger is famous for its low-end goods because their mid-to-high-end models are all stolen from others. They are sued every year, and their plagiarized models are banned in every other university; you can only find them here on Immortal Soldier University’s turf."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "So, Immortal Soldier University is shielding Extreme Tiger’s plagiarism."

Fu Ji chimed in, "What’s new? Look at the companies in Kunxu now—Vajra Profound Works, Myriad Path Craftsmen... which one of them didn't build their success on plagiarism?"

"Universities and sects are the same. How can you grow strong without copying? The weak must copy to catch up to the strong. The strong, unable to master everything, must absorb resources from all sides to maintain their status, balancing original innovation with theft."

"Copyright laws constrain the common folk, but how can they limit those with real backing? Of course, one must still show face to the Heavenly Court; usually, they crack the tech, reconfigure it slightly, and skirt the edges of the law so no one can catch them."

Zhang Yu mused, "Once I have the ability to crack and reconfigure various techniques... I’ll copy to my heart’s content."

He sighed, thinking his own Feather Scripture was still too weak to keep up with his wild, soaring ideas.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the civil engineering competition arena. Zhang Yu looked at the messages from Magnetic Pole True Monarch and Director Gao, knowing his two mentors were watching from the Spirit Realm.

...

Above the arena, in the Spirit Realm’s spectator stands, the projections of Magnetic Pole True Monarch and Director Gao descended together.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch sighed, "Immortal Soldier University... it’s been a long time since I’ve been to this wretched place."

Director Gao asked, "The prize for this competition—the design blueprint for that military-grade armor—how valuable is it?"

He was weighing whether to have Mo Shangjin buy his way into the match if Zhang Yu couldn't handle the opposition.

"The military-grade armor offered as a reward this time, while specialized for civil engineering, originated from the higher-ups," Magnetic Pole True Monarch said.

"Releasing such a blueprint costs them nothing, yet it drives the intensity of the competition even higher."

"Even knowing this, many will still jump into the trap."

He sighed again. "After all, who doesn't want a glimpse into the technological trajectory of the Great Sects?"

"If one can glean even a fraction of future technical paths from the blueprint, the benefits are infinite."

"But it’s also possible that after exhausting all efforts to obtain it... one finds nothing of value, as the higher-ups rarely leak true future intelligence."

"The true value remains unknown until the blueprint is in hand. But at the very least, it would fill a gap in the school’s military-grade armor capabilities."

Director Gao nodded slightly. He knew that while universities updated their immortal technologies annually, it was mostly micro-innovations within existing frameworks.

True, world-altering technological shifts usually came from the diffusion of technology from the Great Sects, often triggering massive upheavals or even altering the ecology of a layer of Kunxu.

If one could peek at future technological trends, the intangible benefits were obvious.

Director Gao thought, "The value of this blueprint seems to exceed the armor itself. I wonder if the Refining Department of Immortal Soldier University is interested? Add in the allure of the Deity-Transformation magical remains experiment..."

Just then, a Spirit Realm projection appearing as a puppet with a metallic luster emerged. "Magnetic Pole, long time no see."

Magnetic Pole True Monarch’s eyes flashed. "Thousand Puppets, you’re here to watch the civil engineering competition too?"

Director Gao’s heart stirred. A quick search of his ocular database revealed the other’s profile: "True Monarch Thousand Puppets, Director of the Refining Department at Immortal Soldier University. Involved in over two thousand copyright disputes in the last three years. One of the university’s 'Kings of Plagiarism'."

Thousand Puppets smiled faintly. "I heard your Myriad Dharma University recently plagiarized the magical remains of the Nectar God-Monarch, so I came to see your results."

Magnetic Pole True Monarch snorted. "My projects are all independently developed. Do not spout slander."

Thousand Puppets shook his head. "Fine, fine, 'independently developed' it is. Let’s watch the competition. Let’s see how your 'independent' results actually perform."

...

Meanwhile, outside the arena, the two teams entered the field.

Wan Gouxuan smiled at Zhang Yu. "Student Zhang Yu, your school’s strength is astonishing. The Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Moving Power is truly earth-shattering."

"Let’s keep this friendly. No need to suffer unnecessary losses for a mere competition."

Zhang Yu gave him a surprised look and nodded casually in agreement.

Wan Gouxuan looked at Zhang Yu with a calm face, but his heart raced with mounting excitement.

"Patience! Patience! Patience!" he warned himself.

"Don't let this Zhang Yu notice anything. Don't let him raise his guard."

"Don't let him realize... he has already become our prey."

"Control the malice. Don't let him find a chance to surrender. Don't let him... run!"

At this moment, Zhang Yu appeared to Wan Gouxuan like a delicate flower. He had to approach with extreme caution, tearing him to shreds in one swift motion before he could react.

"Worst case, at least tear his body apart and scatter his materials everywhere so the school can collect them..."

The more excited he felt, the calmer Wan Gouxuan appeared on the outside, showing no signs of his intent.

As both sides entered the arena, the competition officially began. Wan Gouxuan and his teammates opened a series of iron coffins.

Amidst a chorus of roars, twisted humanoid figures were released.

These were bodies that had worked in the underground factories for years, only to be ravaged by high-concentration miasma, their magical remains severely damaged, their souls long gone.

Because their bodies were so heavily infected, the original owners had been forced to abandon them.

Lacking maintenance, these husks were further corrupted by the miasma, leaving only the primary artifact spirits within the remains to operate the bodies, maintaining the most basic functions.

But because the owners had abandoned them, these primary spirits had entered a "disconnected" state, unable to access the network.

And so, these disconnected spirits wandered the high-pollution zones, becoming zombies that neither the company nor the school cared to dispose of.

Only the primary spirits’ instinctual, repetitive requests for a Spirit Realm connection remained—a final obsession that had transformed into an infinite, hollow longing for the Spirit Realm.

At this moment, as Wangou Xuan pointed his finger, the spiritual energy flow channeled to the zombies ignited like a spark in their dark, hollow world, guiding them to charge toward the positions of Wanfa University.

Amidst a chorus of roars, the zombies, shrouded in towering baleful energy, surged forward like wild beasts.

Watching this, Zhang Yu frowned slightly; he knew that while these zombies lacked raw power, their miasma was a nightmare to handle, leading to shortened lifespans, exorbitant medical bills, and the contamination of construction sites.

Thus, Zhang Yu soared into the air, taking the initiative to meet them head-on.

But in the next instant, beams of divine light descended from the heavens, radiating a terrifying pressure.

Zhang Yu’s hair stood on end, sensing that the slightest touch of that golden radiance would mean his instant demise.

Simultaneously, a message from the referee appeared in everyone’s field of vision.

Referee: Emergency situation, match paused, do not move.

Zhang Yu was startled; in all his years of competing, this was the first time he had ever seen the referee intervene.

"Has something major happened?"

While Zhang Yu stood in bewildered uncertainty, the golden light retracted and vanished, and the magical remains of every zombie had been covered by a layer of mosaic.

Zhang Yu blinked, then realized: "Damn it... is Jihu Corporation so worried about their brand image that they’re censoring the Jihu remains on these zombies?"

Referee: Match resumed.

The entire arena sprang back to life, and Zhang Yu struck out with a palm, his formidable Heavenly Kunlun mountain-shifting power forming a wall that held the charging zombies firmly at bay.

He then reached out, intending to snatch the zombies up and hurl them toward the construction site of Xianbing University.

But the moment they were restrained, their magical remains twisted violently, having received a self-destruct command through the spiritual network.

Their long-starved craving for spiritual energy finally sated, the zombies detonated, their explosive roars sounding like cries of final rest across the arena.

As the zombies disintegrated in unison, vast clouds of baleful energy billowed outward, indifferent to friend or foe.

Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened, thinking: "These fellows from Xianbing University intend to saturate the entire arena with miasma? They must be incredibly confident in their protective technology."

On the other side, Wangou Xuan watched the scene and mused: "Wanfa University, your living conditions are too pampered; you breathe without needing air purification, you attend school without needing miasma protection. How could your experience in this field ever compare to ours?"

"Spreading miasma across the arena may be a hostile environment for you."

"For us... it is merely a daily routine."

Even as he thought this, Wangou Xuan reminded himself: "Be patient, be patient; suppress him bit by bit, and leave him no chance to escape."